Unofficial statistics show DPP in the lead

Statistics from the just ended May 20 tripartite elections show that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Peter Mutharika became top with 37.2 % of the vote followed by closest contender Dr Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) with 28.0% of the vote.

People’s Party (PP) by President Joyce Banda is third with 21.4% while UDF lead by former President Bakili Muluzi’s son, Atupele is on fourth position with 13.3% of the national vote.

According to the statistics which Nyasa Times has seen and corroborated with the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), DPP came second in the northern region with 21% of the vote while PP was first with 58.9% of the vote and MCP came third with 17.7% while UDF came last with 2.4% of the vote.

Mutharika and vice presidential nominee Saulos Chilima

In the centre, MCP came first with 60.8% of the vote while DPP won 19.3% of the vote on second position while PP got 13.6% of the vote and UDF got 6.4% of the vote.

In the Southern Region, DPP s on the first position with 58.2% of the votes followed by UDF with 23% of the votes and PP had 15.4% of the votes and MCP came last with 3.4% of the vote.

A statistician from the National Statistics Office in Zomba who did not want to be named said going by the results from the regions it is clear that DPP won the national election because it did well in the regions where it is deemed not popular than the Southern Region.

“What I see is that DPP appear to win because they have better countrywide distribution of their win. DPP has not been a very bad loser in the Central and Northern Regions, accumulating of over 500,000 votes in these regions compared to only 200,000 votes accumulated by MCP in the North and Southern Regions.”

“In general, MCP are not talking of irregularities in the Central region where in some constituencies they scooped over 82% of the votes.”

He said it would be folly to suggest that DPP rigged the elections, not according to the statistics.

“Can anyone suggest DPP rigged in the South by getting only 58.2% of the votes? If so, then may be MCP also rigged in the Central Region because they got 60.8% (more than DPP got in the South). And It may follow (based on this thinking) that PP rigged in the North by getting 58.9%,” said the Statistician.

Asked on some of the irregularities like the 58 centres where others are claiming that there was over voting, the senior Statistician, dismissed the “irregularities” as being ‘insignificant’.

“As for the 58 Centres where there was over voting, Malawians call this massive irregularities even though they represent 1.3% of the 4445 Centres,” he said.

MEC only released 30 percent of the official vote count, which showed that Peter Mutharika, brother of the late President Bingu wa Mutharika, was in the lead with 42 percent of the vote. Banda followed with 23 percent.

But MCP has declared that it cannot accept the results because they are “fraudulent.”

MCP vice president Richard Msowoya said: “”We cannot allow people to steal our vote just like that and we have evidence and agree with President Banda that the election has been rigged.”

“All tally centres have similar facts except MCPs. Why are they still misrepresenting facts. Is it the DPP return? It is now clear that our presidential candidate Prof Arthur Peter Mutharika is a clear winner as suggested by the Afrobarometer polls and the BBC analysis,” said Dausi.

MEC is yet to announce the official results of the vote and is awaiting court clearance on the matter.